Tea Leaves / Being a Collection of Letters and Documents relating to / the shipment of Tea to the American Colonies in the year / 1773, by the East India Tea Company. (With an introduction, / notes, and biographical notices of the Boston Tea Party)

by Francis S. Drake

Your humble servant,

Anglo Americanus.

Boston, New England,
Dec^r 13^th, 1773.

The papers enclosed contain an account of the proceedings of the town of Boston, on the 29^th & 30^th November, and of the resolves of some of the neighboring towns. (The papers are in the miscellany bundle.)

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LETTER ADDRESSED TO GEO. DUDLEY, Esq^r.,

Enclosing a Boston news paper of the 16^th Dec^r., 1773.

Boston, New England, 17^th Dec^r., 1773.

Gentlemen:

Your tea is destroyed, which was brought in three ships, Cap^ts. Bruce, Hall and Coffin, and the brig with tea is cast away. If the tea is got on shore, it will share the same fate. Every possible means has been used to send it home safe again to you, but the tea consignees would not send it; then application was made to the commissioners of the customs to clear out the vessel,—they would not do it, then to the Governor to grant a pass, which he refused, and finally the people were obliged to destroy it, (se defendendo,) or else, by an unlawful unrighteous Act, imposing a duty this tea would have destroyed them. This whole province, of some hundred thousand people, and the other provinces on the continent, are determined neither to use it, or suffer it to be landed, nor pay the duty. Force can never make them, and if the Company can ever expect to sell any tea in America, they must use all their interest to get this Tea Act repealed, otherwise they will never sell one ounce.